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Schism: A Hybrid Story
Schism: A Hybrid Story is written by me with assistance from this guy, I guess. It takes place in 2384. Call to Arms Coalition Spec-Ops Specialty Training Facility, 1800 hours The thing about an evening sun was that it was one of the the first things that come up in the education of a marksman. Sun glare could throw off the best sniper if they weren't careful, and anyone who went through that level of training knew what to do in order to handle that. It did not, however, come up very often in situations of close quarters combat. As Arya landed a fourth turning kick to Sam's stomach, the Spartan decided that it certainly should have. The training room was at the top floor of the skyscraper it was situated in, a new building, only a few months past its grand opening. The facility was the most coveted facility by all of the special forces divisions, but since Zeta Wing had begun to use it as frequently as they did, Sam never really found it to be much different than the usual training facilities. It was only now that she came to understand why so many of the evenings were reserved by different spec ops divisions, from C-SEC to commandos of the republic. "Helmet eats up all the sun glare, huh?" Arya said, backing up a few paces from Sam. The youngster was fighting very tactically, especially for her. Constantly keeping the sun at her back, forcing Sam to fight the glare as much as she was sparring with Arya. Sam gritted her teeth. Idiot. She cursed herself. Growing accustomed to anything was foolish, dangerous, even in training. A right hand came out of the glare and Sam lifted and arm up, the overhand glancing off her elbow. Arya burst through the glare and Sam noticed her knee coming up, aiming for her ribs. Sam grabbed Arya's leg with her left hand and grabbed her shoulder with her right and spun, throwing Arya bodily across the room. Arya hit the floor and sprang up to her feet a moment later. As she had fallen into the sunlight, Sam could see the effects of Arya's advanced healing. A bruise Sam had left on Arya's forehead had faded completely, only ten minutes later. A red mark over liver had faded completely, seven minutes later. All the welts that had appeared on her forearms from catching strikes she wasn't able to block had faded. Leaves herself open too much. Sam thought. But she just keeps coming. "I'll let you have it for a while." Arya grinned. "I don't need to blind you to win." "That attitude is gonna get you killed one day." Sam said, a memory of their last mission flashing through her mind of Arya repeatedly taunting an insurgent who was operating a heavy cannon. On the one hand, keeping the cannon aimed squarely in her direction kept the fire off of where Vanessa had been stationed. On the other hand, it had distracted Arya from the infantry that was slipping past her towards Ror. "Knock that shit off already." "Nah." Arya said and darted in towards Sam. Sam sidestepped the punch immediately and caught Arya's wrist, throwing a punch up into Arya's ribs and reached out to lock her into another throw. As Sam twisted into the throw, Arya didn't budge. "Nope." Arya said, and she threw her head forward, slamming it into Sam's. To Sam's irritation, after her vision cleared, she was staring up at the ceiling, with Arya leaning over. "I think you're done for the day, hmm?" Sam reached out and grabbed Arya's ankle and pulled on it, throwing the young woman off balance and sending her collapsing to the floor beside her. "You let your guard down too easily." Sam growled, sitting up. "If it was real I'd have taken you out and you wouldn't have had a shot at that." "Your bad habits are going to start bleeding into ops." Sam said, looking over at her. "That's the whole point of training, getting the shit out of you before it pours all over the rest of us." "Ew." Arya said, sitting up as well. "How did you, of all people, get this time here?" Sam asked, turning to look at her. "I flirted my way into other divisions' training groups until the management took a liking to me." Arya said, shrugging as she picked up a water bottle. "Oh boy..." Sam said, reaching up with one hand and rubbing her eyes. "Relax," Arya said, rolling her eyes. "Was all off hours and completely innocent." She held the water bottle out to her mentor, who took it after a moment. "This is probably the last time I feel safe taking one of these from you." Sam said. "Oh no, my apprentice has a life," Arya said, putting on an over-dramatic voice of worry. "She must be trying to drug me." "Drugs aren't what I'm worried about." Sam said. Arya rose to her feet and clutched the area of her heart, stumbling backwards dramatically. "You wound me," Arya said. "More than any punch thrown today." Before Sam had time to reply, the hum of the entrance door opening echoed through the training facility. Both of their heads turned to look, and their gaze fell upon the approaching form of Morri. "Good." Sam said to Arya. "Now I'm giving you back to her." "Hope you ladies are behaving," Morri said as she reached the edge of the training ring. "We need to not be bickering tonight." "Whatcha mean?" Arya said, cocking her head to the side. "New assignment, gotta head out ASAP." Morri said. Arya nodded and hopped out of the ring, throwing on a leather jacket that lay beside the ring. "Where to?" Sam said, rising to her feet. "Collaborative intel recovery out in the Utapau system." Morri said. "Erachi special forces requested us specifically as backup." "Flattering. And annoying." Sam said. "I hate collab ops." "Don't reckon we have too much to worry about, we've worked with this one before." Morri said. "C'mon, I'll give you a ride, Sam." "Appreciated." Sam said. The Spartan followed the two hybrids out and onto the speeder parking platform. Arya quickened her pace and hopped onto a speeder-chopper. Sam vaguely recalled Arya talking about buying the chopper. It was something of a vanity item, something excessive. Sam thought it was a waste in the long run. She rolled her eyes as Arya sat on it and drove off, orange hair billowing in the wind behind her. "How's she doing?" Morri asked, unlocking a blue speeder-car a few meters away. "Same as usual. Stupid, cocky, with potential to be great." Sam sighed. "I'm hoping if I punch her enough times she'll take things seriously." "You've been punching her for five years." Morri said. "Might be time for a change in approach." "In my experience, that type of change needs a traumatic trigger, and..." Sam sighed. "I don't really, you know." "Agreed." Morri said as she got into the car. "That's enough of a presence in this line of work anyway." Sam climbed into the passenger seat beside her. "Anyway, been a bit, what's new with you?" "You know my life, Mo. I'm a Spartan, this is what I do." Sam said, taking tape off of her of her knuckles. Morri didn't take her eyes off of her, and Sam sighed. "But, I did take some advice. I'm doing exposure therapy. Going out in public, attempting to interact with a stranger every now and then." "I'm proud of you, darling." Morri said, reaching out and squeezing Sam's shoulder as she started up the speeder. "When we get back, they've set up an old earth passtime down on Level 2235. We should go there." "With you?" Sam said, giving Morri a small smile. "I can manage to do that." "Should be easy, you just throw a ball along the floor at white things." Morri said, pulling out of the parking space and returning the smile. "I'll spot you some points then." Sam said as Morri entered the flow of traffic and drove off towards the spaceport where the Jericho lay dormant. ---- Utapau, Coranth City Sinkhole, 0300 hours Morri glanced out the windshield of the pelican dropship they had descended in. They had arrived four hours prior, and had been seated in their dropship lying in wait ever since. Ship traffic had been unusually high, and was only just starting to die down. She retreated from the cockpit and entered the cargo area, where Zeta Wing as well as Jaina and Renate Seaver waited quietly. "Ok, let's go over the plan again." Morri said, reaching into her pouch and pulling out a hologram map of their target building. "Our target is a Toydarian politician by the name of Orto Delu. Erachi intelligence has caught him as being a major financier to Insurrectionists in the Khar'shan, Hypori, and Bothawui systems. He's set to make a funding exchange with a Batarian insurrectionist higher up tomorrow, down in Hangar 47, near the bottom of the sinkhole." The sound of the hyperwinds at the planet surface cut Morri off, and for a moment, everyone was silent as they waited for the noise to die down. "Ideally, the hyperwinds don't delay the Batarians, in which case, we move in on the hangar in three squads. As agreed, Sam, Arya, and Ror will be approaching the hangar from the westernmost edge, using the cargo transports in the hangar as cover for their approach. Myself, Vanessa, and Shepard will be using the rafters and the ventilation system between levels 46 and 47 to come down on the walkways and set up an overwatch for the three of you." Morri pressed a button, and a hologram of a batarian ship made it's way into the hologram-hangar. "Once the Batarians arrive, Renate and Jaina will board their ships as the business deal takes place. We want to record the conversations and try to gather evidence on any other moles in Coalition territory. Once the deal has taken place, the batarians should return to their ship and depart. Once they have, we will make our move to capture Delu, stealthily if possible. The Erachi will handle the batarians and we will rendezvous on the Jericho. Any questions?" Silence was her only answer. "Ok, silencers on all weapons. Shep, you take first watch while the others rest, wake Arya after two hours." "Yes ma'am. Assume this means no laser." He said, patting the W/AV M6 G/GNR resting in his lap. "Correct, but keep it on you as a contingency." "My pleasure." Shepard said, shifting towards the back of the dropship as the others fell into positions of attempted comfort to catch what sleep they could. Morri gestured towards Sam with her head in the direction of the cockpit, and the two officers moved into the other room. "Your thoughts so far?" Morri said. "Simple. Boring. Quiet." Sam said. "A regular old stealth op." "First one inside Coalition territory." Morri sighed, shaking her head. "Feels off to me." "Understandable." Sam said. "I haven't done this for years in friendly space." "Must mean things are going worse than we thought up in office." Morri sighed, sitting down in the copilot seat. "Must be." Sam sighed. "Aurora doesn't really tell us as much the last few years." "Worry about that later." Morri said, though she knew that the latent concerns would never really leave. "You and I should be on the same page about what to do in case the hyperwinds make takeoff impossible." "Right." Sam said, snapping her attention to Morri. "What do you have in mind?" "We can't bring a trail back to the ship if that happens, so we'll have to go underground..." ---- Utapau, Coranth City Sinkhole Level 47, 1100 hours "Forward now." Ror's voice came through Arya's comms, and she rolled out from under the speeder she had been hiding under. Rolled once, twice, and onto her back. Her hands reached up and she caught the underside of the cargo speeder-train. Lifting herself up off the ground, she pressed her boots into an indent and looked up at the train car ahead of her. Sam's armor, darkened with technological camouflage to make it grey and drab, was visible in the same position as her. Ok, step one is a go. "Mo, Status?" Sam's voice came through the comms. Arya tensed for the briefest of moments before the reply came. "En route, things got tricky with increased security in the upper levels. Stay frosty down there." Her mother said. "We really need to update your vocabulary." Sam said, catching Arya off guard. "Frosty? What is this, the twentieth century?" "Nope. Everyone born then is long dead." Morri's reply came back. "We'll make contact when we're in position." After a moment of radio silence, Sam glanced back at Arya, who cocked her helmeted head to the side quizzically. "What?" Sam's voice came into her private comm line. Arya lifted a hand off the bottom of the train car and shrugged with it. Sam shook her head and returned her gaze to the road ahead. Several minutes of radio silence passed before Arya spotted the cargo train entering the hangar up ahead. Sam noticed at the same time, holding fist out so that Arya could see it. Arya didn't respond, simply obeying the order to remain still and silent. Two minutes later, their train cars pulled into the hangar, and seconds later the cargo train fell still. Sam kept her fist held in Arya's eyesight, and Arya waited. A moment passed, and the sound of cargo being offloaded, with all the mechanical sounds of the train opening and being emptied. Arya frowned, straining to listen for any sounds of Ror leaving his position in between the train cars. A long moment passed, with silence eventually growing as the cargo began to move away from the train. "Now." Ror's voice came through the comms, and, synchronized, Arya and Sam lowered themselves to the floor and rolled out from under the train cars, rising to a kneel and lifting their weapons to clear the area around them. "Clear." Ror said, still not visible. Arya lowered her silenced M392 and turned to receive orders from Sam. "And...move." Sam said. "Arya, stick to the darker spots." Arya nodded, not wanting to add chatter to the comms. Sam led the way in, following after the workers who had offloaded the train's cargo. They stalked forward, moving in through a barely lit corridor. The corridor gave way to the hangar itself, and Sam called them to a halt before they entered the hangar in earnest. Sam gestured for Ror to advance, and the footfalls of the Sangheili, surprisingly light for a being of his size, advanced past the two of them and into the hangar. "We're in position, Zeta-1." Morri's voice came through the comms. "I think I can see your movement, Ror. Move thirteen feet south and continue on course, there's a manned turret there." A few moments of silence passed before Morri continued. "Sam, Arya, move to the western side of the hangar, the cargo crates there are largely empty and won't be used by the transaction." "Don't forget to watch yourselves up there, Zeta-2." Sam said. "Those little guys crawl all over these cities." A brief memory of having to scare off a trio of the Utai went through Arya's head before Sam began to move forward. Arya followed, sticking more closely to the shadows. Her armor, while it was silver, was taken care of in the traditional Mandalorian way. She always cleaned it, always made sure it was in working order, but never, ever did she buff out the superficial scratches or polish the plates. It left her armor ugly and dim and unappealing, but that was perfect in her eyes. Bright shining armor is for heroes. Her commando master had said. You are no hero. You are Mandalorian. Arya and Sam made it to their position and Arya crouched out of sight, slinging her rifle across her back as she pulled the audio recording device from her belt. "Erachi are in position." Renate's voice came through the comms. For the briefest of moments, the unfamiliar voice gave Arya a jolt. Fuckin' collab ops. She thought to herself as she extended the signal wires of the recording device. She glanced over at the edge of the hangar, where the landing pad gave way to the sinkhole, and another hundred foot drop. Both Erachi were camoflaged directly below the landing pad along the wall of the sinkhole. Risky, but it was why the Erachi had volunteered to do it. The sound of an approaching ship began to echo through the air. The hairs on the back of Arya's neck stood on end. It was almost time. Her finger hovered over the record button, waiting until the sound of the ship would mask the activation of the device. Ten seconds passed. Twenty. Thirty. The ship came into sight, rapidly growing larger, blotting out the sunlight as it drew near. It was upon the hangar, not ten feet from the edge of the platform. "Recording active." She said into the comms, placing the device back in her belt. "Recording active." Shepard echoed. With the two devices active, Arya returned her rifle to her grip and she followed Sam's lead, shifting so that they could get a target in the room in case the deal went south. Arya honed in on a Toydarian honor guard, and Sam took aim with both of her silenced SMGs at other members of the honor-guard. Arya allowed herself a glance up at the rafters, and, squinting, she could see the glare of Vanessa's scope up above. Tracing her line of fire, Arya guessed that she was aiming at the entrance of the Batarian ship. The entrance-ramp descended from the Batarian ship, and out walked eleven Batarians, each sporting Tech Armor that looked like it had been pirated from Turian and CSEC forces. Stepping out in front of the armored squad was a Batarian who looked as though he had been thrown face first into a spinning fan too many times as a child. Arya couldn't help but grimace at the sight of him as he approached the head of the Toydarian gathering, where Delu awaited him. "Greetings, my friend." Delu said. "I have brought forth the credits you require to achieve your mission. Sixteen million credits all without trace. As the humans say, a cash only transaction." Arya's eyes widened. For that much money, an insurgency would have well enough to develop anything from a battle droid squadron to a nuclear bomb. "Good. The blighted newcomer will never suspect the danger until it has swallowed him whole." The batarian leader said. "Commander Pasdegar will be very grateful." Arya mouthed a particularly vile curse. Pasdegar was the fourth in command of the Batarian military, the fact that the insurgencies had such a highly ranked military mole was disturbing. "You will ensure the demise of Senator Urthadar with these funds, yes?" Delu said. From the corner of her eye, Arya noticed Sam's MJOLNIR armor stiffen ever so slightly. Senator Adokas Urthadar was a newcomer to the Coalition, having risen to power after being elected to govern an outer rim system that had chosen to join the Coalition ranks. He had since begun serving as a Senator with a surprising amount of respect. It was particularly impressive, given that he himself was extraplanar in origin. And that brought enemies, it would seem. "Erachi are on board the ship." Renate's voice came through the comms. It was good that they were, as the Batarians began moving towards the cargo boxes of credit chits and began to move them to the transport. Several minutes passed as the cargo was loaded onto the vessel, and then the ship began to take off. "Very well done, everyone." Delu said aloud. "Activate the EMP, we need to clear any trace of our presence here." A technician moved towards a switch, and Zeta swing immediately flew into action, knowing the EMP would wipe the recordings they needed to present to command. Silenced weapons opened fire, and three members of the Toydarian guard squad hit the floor. The switch of the EMP device exploded in a burst of fire, and the technician dropped to the floor a moment later. Delu bolted towards the exit at the back of the hangar as members of the guard squads opened fire in every direction. A red blaster bolt struck, the cargo crate Arya was using as cover, and she fired back immediately to drop the guard who had fired it. Two guards dropped to either side of Delu as he flapped his way towards the exit. The Toydarian politician struck something invisible, and Arya, a fraction of a second behind Sam, took down the remainder of his guard. Technicians were bolting in every direction, and Sam held a hand up towards Arya to signal her. Sam gestured at the entrance they had snuck in through, and Arya nodded, sprinting out from cover at top speed to reach the hallway before any of the workers did. She made it and put herself halfway down the hallway before she turned to aim back down the hall, causing four technicians to freeze and raise their hands. Arya grinned, and opened the squad communications. "East exit secure, nobody's getting past me here." "South exit and target secured." Ror's voice came through. "Ah, shit." Morri's voice came through, and Arya's smile vanished. "Tech escaped west, I'll get him." ---- Morri rolled through her portal and landed at ground level, thirty feet behind the Toydarian. The aliens were surprisingly, alarmingly fast at a proper flying pace, and it was already gaining distance between them. Morri sprinted after it, preparing another portal. Once she reached her full speed, she snapped her fingers and the portal opened in front of her. When she emerged, she was in front of the Toydarian and it was flying straight at her. The alien tried to alter course, but for as fast as it's wings could carry it in a straight line, it did not grant the same blessing to the species' ability to turn on a dime. Morri slammed into it and pulled the alien to the ground. She pinned the alien down and lifted herself up, drawing her sidearm to take aim at her prisoner. "Alright, stay calm and I won't have to use this." Morri said to the Toydarian as she opened her comms. "I've got him, we can add one more to the arrests list." "Your weapons would do nothing, Hybrid." The Toydarian spat. Morri frowned, focusing in on him. He ripped open the front of his uniform, revealing the beeping, white and gold glow of a time bomb. Morri barely had time to curse before a burst of heat and white light filled her vision. Her vision blacked out as she felt herself soar through the air and strike the paved road, bouncing and rolling along the street until eventually coming to a sliding stop. When her vision cleared, she was staring up at the ceiling of the sinkhole level, smoke rising from her armor. "Crap, Ror, be ready to-" Shepards voice came through the comms, half of what he was saying lost to the ringing of her ears. Shepard came into view and he slid to his knees beside her, weapon discarded as he began to check her vitals. "Owwwwww." Morri said. "C'mon, Mor, give me something real if you can." "I don't think anything's broken. Head spinning and ears ringing." Morri groaned. "Torso feels like I was shot with a cannon." "Bruised ribs and a concussion then." Shepard said. "What did you do?" "Uh, chased the Toydarian down." Morri said, holding a hand up to test her nerves. "He had a bomb vest on." "You got lucky." Shepard said. "Good." "He seemed familiar with me at least." Morri said. "Called me Hybrid." "That's ominous..." Shepard said with a slight sigh. "I don't like it." "Yeah..." Morri graoned, sitting up, every inch of motion burning with an ache like death. "How did he know that?" "You did use a portal in front of him." Shepard said, helping her to her feet. "Lucky guess?" "Felt too prepared. Venomous." Morri sighed. "I don't trust luck." "Yeah, neither do I, really." "When we get back I'll talk to command about who has knowledge of our personnel." Morri said. "Might be these people have more moles in high places." "Good call, let's get back to the hangar." Shepard said. Morri gave him a nod and opened a portal for them to step through. ---- Arya dragged Delu by the arm and gave him a slight shove into the empty storage box. He had room to fly about in it, but it was going to be a long and dark trip back to Coruscant for the prisoner. He turned back to Arya, his eyes indignant and outraged, though his mouth was mechanically gagged and unusable. Arya grinned and closed the crate behind him, pausing a moment to listen to him bash his cuffed hands against the closed entrance. "Oh Sam, Flappy here has found a comfy place to stay, as you ordered." Arya said. "Make sure it's a little less comfortable." Sam's voice came back through her comms. "Yes ma'am." Arya said, hanging up on the comms. She turned back to the storage box, considered a moment, then she walked up to it. Crouching down beside it, she grasped the edges and lifted. The metal box lifted up with a good amount of effort, and she switched it around to be standing on its shorter side, making the rectangular shape a vertical one. "Try not to hit the walls too much, might knock the thing over." She said, loud enough for her voice to be heard inside the container. Grinning, she turned and walked back to the elevator. A few minutes later, she stepped into the medical bay, where Ror was looking after her mother. "All four of your human floating ribs have been bruised." Ror was saying as she entered. "Seven and Eight have cracked down the middle. As well, you have been concussed, the severity of which has yet to be seen." "So should I sleep in here overnight or do you not want to put up with me that long?" Morri said, giving the Sangheili, and then Arya, a grin. "As a doctor, I suggest that you remain here." Ror said. His posture sagged faintly, and he shook his head. "As an individual...I have learned that you will do as you please anyways." "Ehhh, I'll stick around." Morri said, leaning back into the medical bed. "Can't have you getting bored." "Wonderful." Ror replied, speaking more to a medical screen than to Morri. Arya couldn't help but be amused by the sound of sarcasm coming from the throat of a Sangheili. Arya lifted a hand and knocked on the side of the wall. "If she's stable, mind if I have a chance to talk to her in private?" Arya asked as Ror turned his gaze to her. "As you wish." Ror said, picking up a holopad and moving towards the exit. "Thanks, handsome." Arya said as he passed her. "Humanoid females suggest it is the scars." Ror said after the briefest of moments. "They're right." Arya replied, and she could have sworn she saw a moment of consideration as Ror left the medical bay. "I will fire you for fraternization." Morri sighed. "Yeah, yeah." Arya said, moving over to sit down beside her bed. "How're you feeling, Mo'buir?" "Like a suicide bomber blew me up." Morri said, earning a roll of the eyes from her daughter. "I'm...worried about what he said. Security officers said that they confiscated four other vests and a lot of explosives from the hangar. A shit ton of seismic charges." "You think it's bigger than just Delu's connection?" Arya said. Morri nodded. "Yeah, that's what I figured too. We got them, though. A lot of prisoners to get information out of, whoever warned them about us will get what they've earned." "Here's hoping." Morri said, wincing as she shifted around the bed. "Crap, I was looking forward to that pin game." "Pin game?" Arya said. "Like, bowling?" Elysium Apartment of Jace Ferran and Katalena Akulov, Hesperidium, 1718 hours. At first, attempting to cook Pyjack had seemed like a good, fun, weird, and interesting idea. Standing over the chunk of blackened char that had at one point been a Pyjack steak, Jace determined that it was likely something that required a professional hand. It had just caught fire nearly the second it touched the grill, and no matter what he tried to do, it the fire would just intensify until it had reached the completely inedible state it had become. "Ja'buir?" A tiny voice came up from beside him, accompanied by a gentle tugging at his pocket. He looked down and smiled at Rayvn, five years old to the day and staring back up at him with a look of curious wonderment on her face. "What is that smell?" "A really bad attempt at making dinner." Jace said. It felt like yesterday, no, hardly an hour ago that she had been referring to him as 'Jabeer,' and stumbling over the strange word structure of Mando'a. "Always have to try, right?" "You did better at it than mom." Rayvn said, pulling herself up to peer over the counter at the ruined steak. "Mom's better at dessert than..." Rayvn trailed off, gesturing at the numerous prepared plates. Bantha ribs, Nerf burgers, a salad native to Felucia, and a bread that Kata had sworn was from Coruscant but could easily be identified as a now expensive delicacy of Earth. "I heard that." Kata's voice came down the hall, followed closely behind by Kata herself. She walked up to Ray, crouched down and lifted her up so that she could sit on the counter beside Jace. "But right you are. Ja'buir is the very best of cooks. And I am the best at cakes, especially." Rayvn grinned, her eyes lighting up so brightly Jace could have sworn they held stars in their irises. "Why don't you go and show grandma the sparks trick we've practicing, Rayv'ika." Rayvn nodded excitedly and hopped down from the counter, hearing down the hall over towards the back door. Kata turned her attention to the ruined steak on the grill. "Well, you have certainly not done worse." She said, grinning to ensure he knew she was teasing him. "These things are like annoying rat-monkeys. Was hoping that they'd be some sort of exotic, untouched food." Jace said, tossing the blackened meat into the trash. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Kata said with a shrug. "By the way, your mom suggested taking Rayvn down to do a temple tour in a couple days, something like a grandma-granddaughter day." "As long as she brings her back eventually, I'm fine with them enjoying the day." "Somehow I doubt she'd be allowed to stay, she just might find it funny to vandalize a fountain." Kata said. "We get a day to relax and Ray gets her destructive childhood tendencies out? This day just keeps getting better." Jace grinned. Kata's face mirrored his, and she leaned in closer, snaking a hand around his waist. "Relax, huh?" "Relax, or whatever pleases the Mrs." Jace said. "Good answer." Kata said, lifting herself up slightly with her powers to kiss him. After a moment, a wondrous moment of blissful oblivion, there was a ring at the doorbell. "I'll get it." Kata sighed, giving an overdramatic sigh. As she slipped away to move to the front door, the rumble of a transport ferry gave the apartment the slightest of quakes, the sound overhead loud, but never grating. The Coruscant ferries were the loudest sounds Jace had heard in some time. A brief flash of the mass of stone falling down upon him burst through his memory and he flinched. Sometimes, in dreams, he relived that moment. You're out, though. He reminded himself. Never have to worry about that again. A pang of guilt shot through his stomach. He may not have to worry about it, but there were many people he worried for. "Wakey wakey, oh chef." A voice and a hand on his shoulder snapped him from his reverie. He looked and saw Morri gripping his shoulder, a concerned expression on her face and a bandage wrapped around her head. "The hell happened to you?" He said, blinking three times rapidly. "Hugged a rathtar, mild concussion." Morri said. "Nothing to worry about, thanks to Ror." "He's the best." Jace said, and Morri pulled him into a warm embrace. "How've you been?" Morri said. "Been too long since I was able to drop in." "Living the life." Jace said. "Failing to cook my family dinner, though." "Pyjak?" Morri said, sniffing the air. "Yeah, only works if you fry it. Still, you got all this." She gestured at the plates of other assorted foods. "Yeah, but that's all easy stuff." "True, but you'll need all the easy stuff you can get." Morri said, playfully giving him a shove. "Five's a fun year." "Wouldn't want to miss a second of it." Jace said, returning the shove. "You should come watch, then." Morri grinned. "Ray's wrestling Arya on your back deck." "Oh boy, time to see who wins." Jace said. "Arya's competitiveness or her ability to play." "She'll tap." Morri said without a nanosecond of hesitation. "Says she has a date tonight, god help me." Jace didn't bother to hide the chuckle, and Morri gave him a joking glare as she began to move towards the back door. "Give it eleven years, then you're screwed too." "Then I have plenty of time to laugh until then." Jace said, earning a roll of Morri's eyes as the back door to the deck opened, and they were greeted by the sight of Arya, floating about two inches off the ground, her legs surrounded by a dark green energy. ---- Office of General Aurora Ferran, Coruscant, 2030 hours, the following day. The skies had long grown dark on Coruscant, and yet Aurora remained in her office, working amidst the papers and negotiations of the galaxy. Planets on the outer third of their territories were constantly dealing with rioting populations and government corruption. Raiders were constantly trying to take control of systems and worlds, and dozens of others had movements supporting secession from the Coalition as well. Certain worlds were showing a rise in blaming those with powers for the cause of the Collapse, and the Jedi were entirely leaderless, mostly taking guidance from members of the Erachi Academy when possible. And she hadn't even dealt with the economic pressure that day. The hum of the elevator door rang through the apartment, and she looked up from her desk to see Morrigan entering. "Captain Jay sends her apologies, crew of the Jericho found anti-hybrid graffiti spray painted on the hull." Morrigan said as she drew near. "She's investigating as we speak, asked me to give the official debrief in her place." "Oh lovely, pranksters breaking through security." Rorii said, lifting her hands up to her head and rubbing her fingers in a circular motion around her temples. "To be candid, it was less of a prank and more of a threat." "Did they shoot at the ship?" Rorii said. "More of 'cage your beast before we hunt it down' kind of thing." Morri said, sitting down in one of the chairs opposing Rorii. "Don't take this the wrong way, but if they didn't shoot a gun at anyone and the best they could muster was some spray paint, they will be pretty low on the threat level for now." Rorii said, and Morrigan's eyebrows rose. It struck Rorii that the beast mentioned was likely a direct reference to Morrigan's daughter, and a pang of guilt shot through her. "Sorry, just drained." "Lot of that going around." Morri sighed. "Anyway, I should debrief you about what we know." "Go ahead." Rorii said, placing her datapad down on the desk. "Well, in addition to the capture of the fifth in line of Toydarian succession and all his workers and Batarian accomplices, we recorded them enough to hear that they're going after Senator Urthdaur." Morri paused a moment to lean back in the chair slightly. "We also discovered that they are very, very happy to die for that mission, given that I ate a suicide vest from a foot away." "That is troubling, but not surprising." Rorii said. "He is a very polarizing man in the senate. I will ensure that his guard is aware." "None of the prisoners are speaking yet, but we've turned them over to interrogators. That's all of the..." She paused, glancing out the window for a moment. "All of the conrete info that I have." "I sense that you have...less concrete information that is troubling you as well." Rorii said. "You are free to share it, Morrigan." "Right before he blew himself up, the bomber specifically called me out as a Hybrid." Morrigan sighed. "I thought it was weird at first, but between that and the message on the Jericho's hull, I can't help but wonder." "You think they are targeting Hybrids in general?" Rorii said. "Or something more specific?" "I don't know specifically, but Zeta's roster is pretty classified info." Morri said. "Them knowing as much as that has me concerned about a potential leak." "Do you have concerns about anybody in particular?" "Not yet, no." Morri sighed, reaching into her pocket and grabbing the napkin she had stolen from Kata and Jace's house the night previous. She held it up so Rorii could read the note scribbled across it. I have an off record request. Rorii nodded, and Morri quickly scribbled another note. I need a list of officers who are aware of the active roster. Officially, this is just a suspicion with no evidence. Unofficially, I could investigate under the radar. Rorii nodded, and Morri slipped the napkin back into her jacket. As she did so, the hum of the elevator rang through the office once again. A tall figure swept into the office, clad in scarlet robes with a burgundy cape billowing off a set of broad shoulders. The golden skin and hair of Adokas Urthadaur shimmered in the overhead lights as he stood at his full height, two and half feet above Rorii's. A set of solid white eyes looked upon them, and his hardened expression grew soft. "Apologies, General." He said, bowing. "I did not intend to interrupt something of importance." Rorii could have sworn that the bass of his voice shook the glass of Chaffir on her desk. "You're alright, Senator. I am actually happy you decided to stop by." Rorii said. "May I sit?" He said, getting a nod from Rorii. Adokas moved around and sat down beside Morri. He towered over her, and Morri shifted to the far side of her seat. "I have learned earlier this day of a plot to see me slain, and I wished to inform you directly of potential danger to the senate." "Which is why I'm happy you are here." Rorii said, gesturing towards Morrigan. "This is Agent Morrigan Gustafsson. She and her team just returned from Utapau, where they uncovered the same plans. We had just finished our debriefing." "Ah, you discovered the plot by the Besalisk?" Adokas said, turning towards Morrigan. She immediately frowned and looked over to Rorii, who leaned forward in her seat, frowning as well. "The Besalisk?" Rorii said. "No, this was Toydarians and Batarians." "How did you uncover this, Senator?" Morri said. "Individuals expressing connection to the group known as Zeta Wing brought me evidence of this plot." Adokas said, frowning. "A particularly...quick man was the one to bring this evidence." "Oh, um, I see." Rorii said. "Do you happen to have this evidence with you?" Adokas promptly held out a datapad, which Rorii took. "It would seem a large amount of people intend for me to die." Adokas sighed. "Apparently." Rorii said. "Your guard will be increased immediately." "I appreciate it, General." Adokas said, inclining his head. "Would the guard of what friends I have be supported as well?" "We will also watch over any close associates of yours, Senator." Rorii nodded. "You need not worry." "My thanks, General." Adokas said, bowing his head again. "The man who supplied me with the evidence, he expressed that he hailed from the...Hybrid homeworld, to my confusion." "Hybrid homeworld?" Rorii said, leaning back in the chair momentarily. A moment passed before her mouth began to open. "Message understood." Morri blurted out. "Thank you, Senator." She glanced over at Rorii, doing her best to convey the importance of secrecy. "Very well." Adokas said, nodding. "Thank you for the audience, General." He rose from his chair, bowed to Rorii again. "Thank you for coming, Senator." Rorii said, and Adokas swept from the office. As the elevator door closed and began to descend, Morri turned her attention to Rorii. "Only nine people know about Akulovia." She said. "It has to be Quinn." "He hasn't come around in forever, correct?" "Not since the Collapse." Morri sighed. "I don't know why he is back, or how he came upon this information, but I am glad he is back." "I'll find him." Morri said. "Him and Viv." "Seems you have a lot on your plate now, Agent." Rorii said. "You'd all be lost without me." Morri grinned. ---- Coruscant Air-Highway, 2200 hours "He said Quinn had given him the information?" Kata's voice was hardened and it came through the speeder-car's speakers loud enough to make the audio peak. Morri could picture Kata moving closer to the receptor to ask. "Not by name, but there's only one person it could've been." Morri replied, shifting into the right lane of speeder traffic. "If he makes contact with you, let me know? Viv too. She might contact Jace given their arrangement about Rockhold." "God, I hope that monster is dead." Kata said, her voice quieter this time. "I'll keep an eye and ear out, I promise." "Thanks, babe." Morri said. "How's Rayvn like her present?" A memory from the night previous of the child staring at the Verpine puzzle box Morri had given her for thirty straight minutes. "She's solved the first step, kept her occupied about six hours." Kata said, her voice relaxing. "Between that and Clara taking her on a day trip to the temple today, been a lot more quiet here than usual." "You are most welcome." Morri laughed. "I'll let you go, you get back to your fun now." "You know it." The call ended, and Morri made a right turn into a lane that led through one of the Coruscant skyscrapers, one of the private casinos. She glanced out her right window and sighed. It was a popular location, particularly among the lower class. Using her powers as a private investigator, Morri had been able to gather enough credits every month to make sure she and Arya had enough to eat and a decent place to stay, but it was all she could ever have afforded at the time. With more and more refugees getting processed each day from the outer worlds, Morri shuddered to imagine the kind of need for coin they had. A transport bus zoomed past her and hurriedly pulled into a parking hangar ahead of her. Dozens of figures emerged as she passed, and she sighed again. More fodder for the private sector to drain. She wished she could do something about how the companies of the galaxy, those that had survived, were making themselves essential to survival for civilians. She wished she could, but with insurrections and now assassination plots on the rise, she knew full well what the priorities had to be. The comms on the dashboard lit up, and she glanced over at the image it projected. It was coming from Vanessa. Her heart rate picked up and she punched the answer button. "Hey Nessa, what's up?" "Hi Momo." The reply came through. Immediately, Morri frowned. The low energy in the voice was a certain red flag. "You doing ok?" Morri said, hoping it wasn't too probing of a question. "Yeah, I guess." The voice did not change at all. "I heard you were working something and I was wondering if you needed a hand." "Didn't you say you had stuff happening?" "I did, but..." Vanessa trailed off and was quiet for a moment. "Kat said she couldn't, was busy." A pang shot through Morri's stomach, and it all made sense. "Well, I for one would welcome the company, I think." Morri said. "I'm always happy to have you come along, Nessa." "Ok!" The energy picked up, some of that brightness returning. "Where should I meet you?" "Diner on top of one of the smaller scrapers." Morri said. "Meet me at these coordinates on the building across, ok? Looking forward to seeing you, as always." "Be there soon!" As the call ended, Morri let out a sigh. She couldn't truly blame Kata for the lie, but hearing Vanessa sound as drained as she had hit Morri right in the stomach. Between that and the fact that Kata had been able to spend time with Vanessa one on one a number of times with a sole digit since she had become Rayvn's mother, Morri could understand and feel the pain in Vanessa's voice. Before she had a chance to rest, her comms lit up again, showing Arya's image projected from the dashboard. Morri hit the answer button again, and the car was filled with the pounding sound of synth heavy music. "So I take it the date went badly?" Morri shouted over the club music. "Yeah, he was a prick." Arya's voice came back through the comms, also shouted. The music faded in volume, and was replaced by the quieter sound of wind. "Sorry, was just getting out the door. I'm at the Elysium club." "That shithole, really?" Morri said. Why Arya had gotten involved in the lower city levels club scenes was absolutely beyond her. "Yeah, it's the only place that serves what they had back home." Arya said, and a pang of guilt shot through Morri for her immediate judgement. "Anyway, Kata messaged me and said that Quinn and Viv might be back? Is that for real?" "Yeah, seems that way." Morri said. "If you happen across either of them on the dance floor, try to make sure that you don't scare them away." "Gotcha, I'll do some digging while I'm here. Certain underground celebrities like to hang out here, they might have info." "Try not to make a scene, ok?" "Yeah, Daveth? I'm just gonna be inside, you can find me at the bar when you get here." Arya said, her voice changing, sounding like she was putting on a party girl voice. "I miss you too, baby, but I'll be waiting for you, don't worry, I love you!" It clicked, and Morri sighed. Arya had some plan, and that plan involved being incognito down in the shitty underbelly of Coruscant. ---- Elysium Nightclub, Coruscant, 2215 hours. Arya slipped into the door, throwing a wink at one of the bouncers, a Turian male. He offered no response, but she knew that she was good to stay as long as she needed. On level two thousand, eight hundred and one, Arya had found her favorite of dives, the place to go and get away from the bureaucratic and military red tape and rules that made her pull her hair out every time a new mission popped up. What she would give to kick in every door that needed kicking and drag every piece of shit by the hair and throw them in a box forever. Elysium was simpler. The rules were easier. Get in, don't kill anybody, have the fun you needed, get out. Sure it was a popular hangout spot for all kinds of criminals, from smugglers to hitmen, but Arya wasn't on the clock when she came here. When she was here, the rules were easier. She could come inside, not think about the world, have the fun she needed, and she could leave feeling recharged and relaxed, ready to face whatever the galaxy had to throw at her. Stepping inside now, however, was different. It became different the moment that she watched a krogan gangster by the name of Wramor Vrog. He was a big shot in the Blood Pack, with several big connections to a number of Hutt Cartels. It wasn't close to being the first time Arya had seen him in person, she had simply never acted on it. With no proof of crimes, there was no point to spending the effort arresting him. The one thing she always took the time to do was make sure she overheard something. Almost never got anything other than underworld gossip, but underworld gossip was exactly what she needed right now. Immediately, the pounding synths rocked her eardrums again, and the bright neon lights flared across her eyes from every direction. White lights came up from the dance floor, with red, green, blue, yellow, and purple flashing from the ceiling and walls. A cooler, blue-green light illuminated each of the private booths that surrounded the dance floor. One end of the white lights sported the bar, manned by a Vorcha of all creatures, who was flanked by two Asari. The other end sported a DJ stage that was manned by a Volus. Vrog was moving up a staircase behind the stage, flanked by a squad of four Vorcha. I have to get to the second floor. The private floor. For that, I'll need an invitation. Arya made her way forward to the dance floor, making a mental note to buy more of the leather pants she typically wore out. As she rapidly grew surrounded by legions of partygoing Asari, Twileks, and humans women, all in some form of dress or skirt, Arya was growing ever more thankful for the practicality. It took some effort, slipping and dancing through the throngs of drunken patrons, but eventually she reached the bar, which she leaned on in front of one of the Asari. "Your usual, sweetheart?" The Asari said, a bit too earnestly. Fishing for tips, Arya guessed. "Something a bit lighter, today." Arya shouted over the music. She glanced up at the second floor, all balconies that looked down upon them. Vrog was exiting the staircase and moving towards a booth. Arya reached into her pocket and pulled out a large credit chit. Twirling it between her fingers, Arya made eye contact with the bartender. "What does a girl have to do to get invited up there, hmm?" "Got to impress somebody who's up there." The Asari replied, reaching out to take the chit. Arya pulled it back, raising her eyebrows and smirking. "Big shot gangster, Asari Eclipse higher up. A couple of bounty hunters, a Trandoshan and a Mandalorian. The Mandalorian's been here a couple nights now, always invites a woman up to come see him." "Thank you." Arya said, handing the chit over. The Asari took the money and handed over a fireball shot, which Arya promptly downed. She stepped back from the bar and melted back towards the dance floor. Moving through it, Arya made her way towards the bathroom and crept inside it. She moved up to the mirror and hurriedly reached into her pocket. Pulling out a spare lipstick tube, she set to work applying it. In the mirror, she noticed a trace of movement in the ceiling behind her. One of the ceiling tiles was moving, up and to the left. Arya took her eyes off of it and went back to looking to her work. Her ears remained tuned into what was happening directly behind her. Rustling of clothes and the sound of a figure lowering themselves to the floor. One step towards her, a second. Arya finished applying the lipstick, placed it back in her jacket pocket, and she whirled around to face the figure, one of her hands shooting out to grab them. The figure ducked under her hand, long black hair flashing in the fluorescence of the bathroom lighting. The figure grabbed Arya's arm and twisted, and Arya grabbed the wrist that clutched her forearm and she began to pull the grip away. The figure pushed forward with the second arm and pressed it against Arya's throat with enough strength to push Arya back a pace before she caught herself. "Relax." The woman said. "Arya, relax. I need your help." "Viv?" Arya said, her eyes widening. ---- Across the street from Kragget, Coruscant, 2230 hours. Morri peered through the window and looked down at the Kragget restaurant. As busy as it ever was down here in the underbelly. She turned to Vanessa, who was watching her quizzically. "So, I'm gonna need overwatch and covering fire in case things get hairy down there." Morri said, glancing back at the restaurant. A group of Rodians were having a confrontation with a pair of Ithorians. She truly pitied the Rodians. "I can do that." Vanessa said, pulling her armored hood over her head and pulling the sniper rifle from her back. "Ideally nothing will go wrong while I'm in there. Mostly I just need intel on anything suspicious happening around me." Morri said. "I'll signal if I do end up needing cover." Morri glanced down and checked her sidearm, then looked back up at Vanessa. She was colder, more calculated, and in her purely mission mode. It was geuninely firghtening at times, how the switch between the two could happen on a dime. "Hey, thank you for coming. It's a really big help." "The pleasure is all mine." Vanessa said, and the cloaking device of her armor activated. Morri held the wince in. Vanessa was more tense, her sentences sounding a bit more clipped. She would almost certainly need to try to get under the barriers Vanessa held up around herself with the squad, the barriers of mirth and joy and optimism that had to burden her. "Testing comms." Morri said, pressing a finger to her earpiece. "Received." Vanessa replied, her voice coming through the earpiece. Morri nodded and opened a portal to the alley beside the warehouse they were in. She stepped through and closed it, zipping up the plainclothes jacket she was wearing. Pulling her hood up, she stepped out onto the sidewalk and glanced both ways as she reached the air-lane. Seeing no speeders, she hurried across the street and made her way into Kragget. The smell hit her in the face like a ton of bricks. Nerf strips and mealbread seemed like they were specials, and she was immediately greeted by a green skinned Twi'lek woman and ushered to a table. Her eyes moved constantly in every direction, taking in every being around her. Aliens of a variety of races, humans of varying backgrounds, they all were crowded up in the restaurant. In one of the corner tables, a pair of Mandalorians sat, helmets on, their food half eaten, and one of them was glancing in her direction. She looked away and pretended to focus on the menu. "Nessa, scope the Mandos in the corner, anything interesting?" She muttered. "They have some tech on them. Echolocator and scanning." Vanessa's voice came through her earpiece. "They're both armed and-" She cut herself off, and Morri's heartrate spiked. "Hey sweetie, the child woke up." Vanessa said, her voice higher, lighter, lovelier. "Watch out for him." Morri flipped the page of the menu, using the reflective plastic to look at the Mandalorians. One of them had stiffened. "Thanks, love." Morri said, and his gaze slowly turned in her direction. "Of course, I'll be in the living room." Vanessa said. Morri immediately picked up on the play. Enough home life talk and someone with scanning equipment might assume it was a glitch. The mercenary looked away from her, but he seemed tense still. "Has the droid cleaned the bathroom yet?" Morri said, holding the menu in front of her face to hide her lips moving. "Sorry doll, it hasn't gotten there yet." Morri's stomach churned, and she started angling the menu in a way to reflect towards the bathroom. "I think our new cat has gotten in there, though." A third Mandalorian was standing in the exit of the bathroom, similarly attired, and was scanning the room. "Hopefully he doesn't make too much of a mess." Morri said. The Mandalorian moved out of view, and Morri cursed internally. "From what I've seen, he's awful at games." Vanessa said. "My guess is nobody is ever gonna play with him." Morri turned around to wave towards a Quarian waitress. The third mercenary was putting the moves on an Asari manager. Morri turned back to her menu and occupied herself with folding it up. "I'm...not a fan of what's on right now. You?" Morri cast a glance around the restaurant and saw that one of the Mandalorians, the one with the echolocator, was on his feet and talking to a waitress. Not far from him, the Asari manager was talking to a huddle of other servers. "Shame." Morri said. "Friend from work said it was supposed to be a good show." The lead she had picked up from members of Urthadaur's security team was beginning to seem more and more likely to be true. "I don't really like your close friends." Vanessa muttered. She's good. Morri thought. It was clever, pretending she was talking to herself in a make believe code world. "I wish you would get rid of them." "Y'know." Morri said, fiddling with her jacket. "I was thinking I might skip out on going to the casino with the girls this weekend." She could see a trio of waitresses beginning to hurry along their tables and ushering the patrons towards the exit. "I'm sorry to hear that. Since you'll be home, I guess I won't have to worry about take-out." Vanessa said. Four tables had risen and were leaving. Morri stood up to join them, and the Mandalorian with the scanner rose to his feet as well. "Ok, yeah, our son is definitely awake." Morri guessed she was zeroing in on one of the mercenaries, and she readied herself to open a portal. His hand shifted towards his sidearm, and before Morri had a chance to blink, something had grabbed her. She blinked, and she was outside in the alleyway she had originally came from. She shoved against the figure, and Quinn stumbled back. She blinked, and he was gone again. A second blink, and he was standing in front of her again, holding up a small holodisc. "We should get out of here, it's not gonna take long for them to realize I took this." Quinn said. "Momo? Momo?" Vanessa's voice came hurriedly through her earpiece. "I'm ok, Nessa." Morri said. "Pull out and fall back to the speeder." "Copy." Vanessa said. "Where the hell have you been and what have you been doing?" Morri said. "Tracking Rockhold led us to schemes to assassinate Senator Urthadur." Quinn said. "We lost the trail on Rockhold but his money left a paper trail to a number of insurrectionists on the rims. Mandos, Ithorians, Batarians, Toydarians." He glanced back over at the restaurant, which was beginning to burst into chaos. "Viv is on world too, after we tipped off Urthdaur we started looking into the Mandos. Let's go, we might be able to assist them." "Ok, the car is a block away." Morri said. She blinked, and she was standing beside it.